Cushion or the like



Dec. 20, 1960 F. s. KNOLL CUSHION OR THE LIKE Original Filed June 29, 195s -INVENTOR. fiO/CE/VC'E SKA/0L1 United States Patent CUSHION OR THE LH(E Florence S. Knoll, New York, N.Y., assignor, by mesne assignments to Knoll Associates Inc. a co or tion of New York rp 2 Original applicationJune 29, 1956, Ser. No. 594,740.

3 Claims. (Cl. 155-185) This invention relates to cushion structures generally, and particularly to an improved cushion for chairs, sofas or the like.

This is a division of my prior ap lication Ser. No. 594,740, filed June 29, 1956, entitled ihair or the Like, which prior application is a continuation-in-part of my previously filed application Ser. No. 451,237, filed August 20, 1954, entitled Support for an Article of Furmture, now Patent No. 2,796,307, issued June 18, 1957.

An object of the invention is to provide improved seat and back cushion structures for a chair or sofa.

Another object is to provide an improved seat and back cushion structure for a chair or sofa which presents a novel ornamental effect by virtue of creating a dimpled effect without the use of tufts or buttons at the dimpled locality.

Another object is to provide improved seat and back cushion structures for a chair or sofa which lend themselves to ease and economy of manufacture.

The foregoing and other objects are attained in the structure described herein by providing a cushion including an upholstered covering which is held in place by the use of crossed rows of ornamental stitching and raw threads each extending from the back or under side of the cushion through the cushion to the front or top side of the fabric covering, crossing an intersection of two of the rows of stitches at that locality, and then extending back through the cushion to the under side thereof. An anchor is provided at the back or under s1de of the cushion to retain the ends of the draw threads. There is also provided a reinforcing patch at the front or upper side of the cushion pad and under the facing fabric to prevent ripping of the material by the draw thread.

Other objects and advantages of the invention may become apparent from a consideration of the following description and claims, taken together with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view, taken on an enlarged scale, showing the outside of an upholstered cushion constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a front view of a chair having a back cushion embodying the invention.

Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate a cushion constructed in accordance with the invention. The cushion comprises a pad 92, of any conventional material, such as sponge rubber or the like. The top and bottom surfaces of the cushion 92 are covered with sheets of upholstery fabric 93 and 94, which may be of the same or different materials. The upholstery fabric 93 on the wearing side of the cushion is provided with longitudinal and transverse rows of stitching 94a, extending at right angles to each other and intersecting as shown for example at 95. Rows of stitching 94a may be in any reasonable number depending upon the size of the cushion and the design effect desired. In addition the rows of stitching may intersect at angles other than right angles, again depending upon the design desired. In the preferred embodiment of my invention, however, for a cushion of a size customarily used for a seat or back cushion on a chair, for example, I provide for two longitudinal and three transverse rows of stitching in the fabric which intersect each other at right angles. Each line of stitching comprises a plurality of successive aligned stitches of a thread stitched in the fabric of the covering. This is clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. At each intersection 95, the upholstery fabric layers 93 and 94 are fastened to the pad 92 by means of draw threads 96. Each draw thread 96 extends from the underside of the cushion, through the cushion, over the intersection of the stitching thread 94a and back through the pad 92 to the under side of the fabric 94. Underneath the fabric 94, a suitable anchor is provided to retain the ends of the draw thread 96. Such an anchor is illustrated at 97, consisting simply of a rolled patch of the covering fabric. On the underside of the ornamental fabric 93, adjacent each of the intersections 95, there is provided a reinforcing patch 98 to prevent the draw threads from pulling through the material. The patch 98 is held in place by the stitching 94a.

A cushion constructed in this manner presents a novel ornamental effect by virtue of the crossed rows of stitching 94a, with each intersection of the crossed rows dimpled or depressed by means of a draw thread 96. This dimpled effect is achieved without the use of tufts or buttons at the dimpled localities, as is common in prior art structures of the same general type.

While I have shown and described certain preferred embodiments of my invention, other modifications thereof will readily occur to those skilled in the art, and I therefore intend my invention to be limited only by the appended claims.

I claim:

I. A cushion for furniture, comprising a pad of compressible material, a face layer of covering material on the face side of said pad, intersecting lines of stitching extending across said face layer, each line comprising a plurality of successive aligned stitches of a continuous thread stitched in said face layer, a reinforcing patch of sheet material located between the face layer and the pad at an intersection of said lines of stitching and held to said face layer by said stitching, a draw thread continuous between its ends and extending from one end at the back side of the cushion through the pad, the patch, the face layer, over the intersection of two of said lines of stitching and back through the face layer, the patch and the pad to its other end at the back side of the cushion, and anchor means at the back side of the cushion for holding the ends of the draw thread in place.

2. A cushion for furniture, comprising a pad of compressible material, face and back layers of covering material on the face and back sides of said pad, intersecting lines of stitching extending across said face layer of covering material, each line comprising a plurality of successive aligned stitches of a continuous thread stitched in said face layer, reinforcing patches of sheet material located between said face layer and said pad at the respective intersections of said lines of stitching and held to said face layer by said stitching, and a plurality of draw threads, each continuous between its ends and extending from one end at the back side of the cushion through the back layer of covering material, the pad, one of said reinforcing patches, and the face layer, over One intersection of the crossed lines of stitching, and

back through the face layer, said one reinforcing patch,

the pad, and the back layer to its other end at the back of the cushion, the ends of each said draw thread being knotted together, and anchor means for respectively holding said knotted ends of the draw threads from being drawn through said. back layer. of. covering material.

3. A cushion for-furniture, comprising a padof compressible material, a face layer of covering. material on the face side of said pad, intersecting lines of stitching extending across said face layer, each line comprising a plurality of'successive aligned stitches of a continuous thread stitched in said face layer, a draw thread. continuous between its ends and extending from one end at the back side of the cushion through the pad, the face 4 layer, over the intersection of two of said lines of stitching and back through the face layer and the pad to its other end at the back side of the cushion, and anchor means at the back side of the cushion for holding the ends of the draw thread in place.

References; Cited. inthe file of this patent UNITED'STATES PATENTS 765,377 Busche July 19, 1904 1,180,432 Roberti et al April 25, 1916 1,211,475 Micon Jan. 9, 1917 1,491,458 Bednarek April 22, 1924 1,666,280 Brandwein April 17, 1928 1,882,876 Pittoni Oct. 18, 1932 All 

